At Nursery!..
Nits… Just typing the word is enough to have me scratching my head, and I’m sure if you haven’t already you will be scratching before the end of this post!
The Girls nursery has yet another Nits outbreak, and as the oldest is about to embark on her schooling journey in September, I expect it’s going to become a regular worry in our household. The main problem is LOTS of hair (and I mean lots) as well as sensitive skin, and all that comes before the eco aspect of treating the problem.
I’ve looked high and low and found the treatment that I think checks all the boxes…
So I need a treatment that is a one and done, who has the time for combing the little blighters out, that won’t aggravate my daughter’s eczema (or my rosacea), and isn’t harmful to the planet; no pressure!
NitNOT
NitNOT boasts its eco-credentials right on the bottle and is readily available on Amazon prime – useful in a nitty situation (but not eco). It’s consists of a single ingredient (ECO) Dimethicone which is mineral oil. Dimethicone is a common ingredient in the beauty industry, found in moisturiser, make-up, and shampoo. It claims on the label to be non-flammable, hypoallergenic, effective and safe, all good things.
If you go on their website the list of eco-credentials is what should be expected of any company tbh. The bottle is made of 100% recycled materials and is 100% recyclable. The only ingredient is from non-fossil fuel derivatives, and the process uses green energy to make the oil. They check supply chains for work conditions and fair pay.
They list many good things on the website, but they are not B-corp registered, nor do they list being vegan or cruelty-free so I can only assume they are not either (that said, I don’t know if a Nit treatment could ever be vegan or cruelty-free as the name of the game is to kill the nits)?
The product itself is clear and says that it can be used instead of conditioner for combing out the blighters, so being see-through would allow the comber to see the critters when working. It is an incredibly viscous liquid, think golden syrup, so I have no idea (as I didn’t do it) how easy it would be to comb long hair smothered in it (as directed). It smells faintly sweet and isn’t unpleasant.
My youngest didn’t appreciate it on her head, but she hates having her hair washed so… You have to leave the treatment on for two hours which isn’t fun with a young child as it is an oil that will get onto toys and surfaces as it runs (slowly) out the hair onto the face and neck and they touch it with their hands etc.
Once the 2 hours is over it has to be washed out, they suggest washing up liquid to remove it but, with her eczema, there was no way I was going to use something so harsh. I tried their normal shampoo bar to start, but after 3 washes the oil wasn’t budging; so I went for a bar of artisan hand soap and rubbed and rubbed until her hair was thick with soap. That did the trick.
I washed her hair after with the shampoo bar to rebalance the hairs PH. Once she was out and dry, I used their normal hair oil to condition it.
Two days have passed and her eczema hasn’t been affected by the treatment, and her hair seems in fine condition after the hand soap.
Overall I think the product is fine – does what it says on the tin. The fact it has to be on for 2 hours is a pain but only because of the age of my children; a little older and a shower cap and a film – you’d be golden.
This treatment was a precaution as she was around nits so I can’t say if it killed them all as I don’t know if she had any, but we are Nit free for now.
